Sunday, May 13, 2012

The
last is yet to be heard about Nigeria’s all-time Super Eagles highest goal
scorer, Rashidi Yekini, who passed
on May 4, 2012, as the late striker’s bosom friend, Tijani Babangida, had opened up on the psychological trauma the
late striker faced while wearing the green and white jersey of Nigeria at the
USA’94 FIFA World Cup.

Babangida, who was Yekini’s roommate at the Mundial where Nigeria made her maiden
outing, took National Mirror down memory lane on how his relationship with Yekini
began in Kaduna.

“I
grew up in Kaduna with Yekini and we were so close, though he was older than me”. “We played together for a team called Ade
Boys FC of Kaduna which was his first club before he moved over to UNTL”.

Speaking
further on the conspiracy against Yekini
during the USA’94 FIFA World Cup, Babangida
said that if he should reveal everything that happened at the Mundial, many
Nigerians would be shocked.

“It
is a long story and if I should go into details, a lot of guys will go down.
But I can tell you what transpired during the peace talks and tell you exactly what
Yekini told me because he was my roommate at the World Cup in USA and even at
France ’98”.

USA '94 Eagles...

“In
the meeting when the whole team had ganged up and attacked him, he simply knelt
down in front of the whole team and begged them to forgive him if he had hurt
anyone with his comment”.

“I
was very surprised because the way they attacked him, I was thinking he would
abuse the whole team and things would go
sour, but that did not happen; instead he went down on his two knees begging
them for forgiveness”.

Tijani Babangida Shoulder Carried by Taribo West

“I
asked Yekini why he should go to such extent to beg them since I was his only
supporter and he said, Tijani, if I fight them they will not pass the balls
again to me like they frustrated me during the Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia”.

“It
was then I laughed and to my shock, Yekini burst into tears and wept bitterly.
That was why Yekini never wanted to do anything with all the ex-Eagles players
because he felt they brought him down and believed also that they hated him”, Babangida said with a tinge of regret.

According
to Babangida, it was clear that
Yekini wanted to use the Mundial in America to make a statement to the soccer
world by painting the competition red with goals, but somehow that ambition or
dream died after he had scored only a goal in that match for the Super Eagles
in their 3-0 whitewash of Bulgaria in the opener.

Speaking
further on the personality of Yekini, Babangida said he was a hard working
person when it came to training and hated losing a match.“When I was in the national team
as a young player, he guided me and he was the only close friend I had in camp
because he was a very reserved person”.

“Yekini
was a very jovial person...he liked making people laugh”. He
was never angry with anyone when I was around him, even when he was angry with
anyone and I begged him, he would always compromise.

“If
you knew who Yekini was, you would really admire his personality”, Babangida concluded.